Jim Smith's 38th attempt to reach the FA Cup final was thwarted in the last minute at Highbury on Saturday when Arsenal's Nigerian international Kanu swooped to score.
Though such a belated denouement implies bad luck on Derby County's part, the Cup holders more than deserved their place in another semi-final having created 19 chances to Derby's six and having also been the butt of some roughhouse tactics from the Rams which perhaps one should expect in a cup tie, but which tend to undermine the sympathy vote.
What a difference three weeks has made to Kanu. When the 6ft 5in striker came on as a substitute against Sheffield United in the previous round, his cross for the winning goal caused a diplomatic incident.
But on Saturday the 22-year-old's moral standing went form zero to hero in the split second it took him to slam home his first goal for Arsenal since joining the club from Inter Milan for £3.5 million last month.
Kanu is basking in his sudden change of status. "It was nice to hear all the cheers after the bad things said about me," he said. Kanu's goal settled a tetchy tie in which Derby, minus key players, decided to man-mark Nicholas Anelka with Spencer Prior and Dennis Bergkamp with Lee Carsley, then play three up front.
It worked in an attritional sort of way in the first half as Arsenal sorely missed the suspended Patrick Vieira and the injured Emmanuel Petit injured. The home side only gained a grip after the break, when the impressive Ray Parlour was joined in central midfield by sweet-passing nelson vivas, replacing the injured Stephen Hughes.
Once Marc Overmars also stopped trying to beat everyone and passed the ball instead, it seemed only a matter of time before Arsenal scored. Wenger was so desperate to avoid adding a reply to a crammed fixture list that he even ended up playing four forwards.
However, the turning point came, perhaps, when the defender Stefan Schnoor departed injured on 86 minutes, leaving the left side of Derby's defence unbalanced.
Minutes later Bergkamp finally and crucially shrugged off Carsley down that flank to fire in a cross which won the corner from which Arsenal scored. Tony Adams fed Martin Keown, whose shot was blocked by Kanu before the Nigerian turned and blasted home.
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Winterburn, Parlour, Ljungberg (Kanu 66), Hughes (Vivas 46), Overmars (Diawara 77), Bergkamp, Anelka. Subs Not Used: Manninger, Upson. Booked: Winterburn, Anelka, Parlour, Vivas. Goals: Kanu 89.
Derby County: Hoult, Laursen, Stimac, Prior, Schnoor (Hunt 86), Powell, Carsley, Burton, Eranio, Wanchope, Sturridge. Subs Not Used: Harper, Poom, Kozluk, Baiano. Sent Off: Sturridge (89). Booked: Powell, Eranio, Laursen, Sturridge, Schnoor.
Referee: S Dunn (Bristol).
